Jeremiah 4
1 Yahweh says, “You Israeli [people], come back to me! If you get rid of those detestable idols and do not turn away from me [again],
“Sɛ wobɛsane wʼakyi a Ao, Israel, sane bra me nkyɛn,” sei na Awurade seɛ. “Sɛ woyi wʼahoni a ɛyɛ akyiwadeɛ firi mʼani so na sɛ woammane bio,
2 and if you declare, ‘Just as surely as Yahweh lives, what he says is true,’ and if you [start to] always say what is true and act justly/fairly and righteously, then the [people in the other] nations [of the world] will request that I bless them [as I have blessed you], and they will [all come and] honor/praise me.”
na sɛ, nokorɛ, pɛyɛ ne tenenee mu woka ntam sɛ, ‘Sɛ Awurade te ase yi,’ a afei mobɛyɛ nhyira ama aman no na ne mu na wɔbɛnya animuonyam.”
3 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and [the other cities in] Judah: “[Prepare yourselves to receive my messages] like farmers plow up hard ground [in order that they can plant seed in it]. Just as farmers do not [waste good seed by] sowing seeds among thorny plants, [I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive].
Yei ne asɛm a Awurade ka kyerɛ Yuda mmarima ne Yerusalem: “Monsiesie mo asase a wɔmfuntum da na monnnua wɔ nkasɛɛ mu.
4 Purify your inner beings and your minds for me. If you do not do that, my being angry with you [MTY] because of [all] the sins that you have committed will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.”
Montwitwa mo ho twetia mma Awurade montwitwa mo akoma twetia, mo Yuda mmarima ne Yerusalemfoɔ, anyɛ saa a mʼabufuhyeɛ bɛsɔre na adɛre sɛ ogya. Mo bɔne a moayɛ enti, ɛbɛhye a obiara rennum.”
5 “Declare this [DOU] to [all the people in] Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judea; blow the trumpets everywhere in the land [to warn the people]. Tell them that they should flee to the cities that have high walls around them.
“Bɔ nkaeɛ wɔ Yuda na pae mu ka wɔ Yerusalem sɛ, ‘Hyɛn totorobɛnto no wɔ asase no nyinaa so!’ Team denden sɛ: ‘Mommoaboa mo ho ano! Momma yɛn nnwane nkɔ kuropɔn a wɔabɔ ho ban no so!’
6 Shout to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Run away [now]! Do not delay, because I am about to cause you to experience a terrible disaster [DOU] that will come from the north.
Momma frankaa so na monkɔ Sion monnwane nkɔbɔ mo ho adwaa! Ɛfiri sɛ mede amanehunu firi atifi fam reba, ɔsɛeɛ a ɛyɛ hu.”
7 [An army] that has destroyed [many] nations will attack you [like] [MET] a lion that comes out of its den [to attack other animals]. [The soldiers of that army] have taken down their tents and they are ready to march toward your land. They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.’
Gyata bi afiri ne tu mu; ɔbɔaman bi asi mu. Wafiri ne tenabea sɛ ɔrebɛsɛe wʼasase. Wo nkuro bɛbubu na ada mpan.
8 So, put on sackcloth/rough clothes and weep and beat your chests [to show that you are very sorry for what you have done], because Yahweh is still very angry with us.
Enti fira ayitoma, di awerɛhoɔ na twa adwo, ɛfiri sɛ Awurade abufuhyeɛ no nnane mfirii yɛn so.
9 Yahweh said that at the time [he punishes you], the King of Judah and [all his] officials will be very afraid. The priests and the prophets will be terrified.
“Saa ɛda no,” Awurade na ɔseɛ, “ɔhene no ne adwumayɛfoɔ no bɛbɔ hu, asɔfoɔ no bo bɛtu, na adiyifoɔ no ho bɛdwiri wɔn.”
10 Then I replied, “Yahweh [my] God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now [our enemies] [PRS] are ready to slaughter us with their swords!”
Afei, mekaa sɛ, “Aa, Otumfoɔ Awurade, woadaadaa nnipa yi ne Yerusalem. Wokaa sɛ, ‘Mobɛnya asomdwoeɛ,’ wɔ ɛberɛ a akofena da yɛn mene mu.”
11 When that happens, [Yahweh] will say to the people of Jerusalem, [“A huge army will come to attack you]. They will not [be like a gentle breeze that] separates wheat from chaff. [They will be like] a very hot wind [that blows in] from the desert [MET].
Saa ɛberɛ no wɔbɛka akyerɛ nnipa yi ne Yerusalem sɛ, “Mframa a emu yɛ hyeɛ bɛbɔ afiri nkokoɔ wesee a ɛwɔ anweatam so aba me nkurɔfoɔ so, ɛnyɛ deɛ ɛpɔ ho anaa ɛhuhu soɔ;
12 [They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
mframa a ano yɛ den boro saa no firi me nkyɛn. Afei, mepae mu ka mʼatemmuo a ɛtia wɔn.”
13 [Our enemies] are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like [SIM] whirlwinds. Their horses are faster than eagles. It will be terrible for us!
Hwɛ! Ɔreba sɛ omununkum, ne nteaseɛnam reba sɛ, ntwahoframa, nʼapɔnkɔ ho yɛ herɛ sene akɔdeɛ. Yɛnnue! Yɛawu!
14 [You people of] Jerusalem [APO], purify your hearts/inner beings, in order that Yahweh will rescue you. How long will you continue to think about [doing] evil things?
Ao, Yerusalem, yi bɔne firi wʼakoma mu na woanya nkwa. Wode adwemmɔne bɛhyɛ wo mu akɔsi da bɛn?
15 From Dan [city in the far north] to the hills of Ephraim [a few miles/kilometers north of Jerusalem] messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming.
Ɛnne bi rebɔ kaseɛ firi Dan, ɛrebɔ amanehunu ho dawuro firi Efraim nkokoɔ so.
16 Tell this to the [people in other] nations [but also] announce it in Jerusalem: [Yahweh says], “An army is coming to Jerusalem from far away; they will shout [a battle-cry] against the cities in Judah.
“Monka yei nkyerɛ aman no, mommɔ no dawuro nkyerɛ Yerusalem sɛ, ‘Atuafoɔ dɔm firi akyirikyiri asase bi so reba, wɔma ɔko nteamu so de tia Yuda nkuropɔn.
17 They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters [SIM] around a field [at harvest time]. That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.
Wɔtwa kuropɔn no ho hyia sɛ mmarima a wɔrewɛn afuo, ɛfiri sɛ me nkurɔfoɔ ate me so atua,’” sei na Awurade seɛ.
18 You will be punished very severely; it will [be as though a sword] has stabbed your inner beings. But you are causing those things to happen to you because of the evil things that you have done.”
“Wʼankasa abrabɔ ne nneyɛeɛ na ɛde yei aba wo so. Yei yɛ wʼasotwe. Ɛyɛ nwono! Ɛwowɔ akoma!”
19 I am extremely anguished/sad; the pain in my inner being is very severe. My heart beats wildly. But I cannot remain silent because I have heard [our enemies] blowing their trumpets to announce that the battle [against Judah will start immediately].
Ao mʼahoyera, mʼahoyera! Mede ɔyea nukanuka me mu. Ao mʼakoma ɔyeadie! Mʼakoma bɔ paripari wɔ me mu, mentumi nyɛ komm. Ɛfiri sɛ, mate totorobɛnto no nnyegyeɛ; mate ɔko frɛ no.
20 Disasters will occur one after another until the whole land is ruined. Suddenly [all] our tents will be destroyed; [even] the curtains [inside the tents] will be ripped apart.
Amanehunu di amanehunu akyi; asase no nyinaa asɛe. Wɔasɛe me ntomadan prɛko pɛ, ne me hintabea mpofirim.
21 How long will this battle continue? How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?
Ɛsɛ sɛ mehwɛ ɔko frankaa no na metie totorobɛnto no nnyegyeeɛ kɔsi da bɛn?
22 [Yahweh says], “My people are [very] foolish! They do not have a relationship with me. They are [like] [MET] stupid children who do not understand [anything]. They very cleverly do what is wrong, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
“Me nkurɔfoɔ yɛ nkwaseafoɔ; wɔnnim me. Wɔyɛ mma a wɔnni adwen; wɔnte hwee ase. Wɔwɔ bɔneyɛ ho nyansa; na wɔnnim sɛdeɛ wɔyɛ papa.”
23 [God gave me a vision in which] I saw that the earth was barren and without form. I looked at the sky, and there was no light there.
Mehwɛeɛ asase no, na ɛnni bɔbea na hwee nni so; mehwɛɛ ɔsorosoro, na wɔn hann no nni hɔ.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
Mehwɛeɛ mmepɔ no, na wɔrewosowoso, na nkokoɔ no nyinaa rehinhim.
25 I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
Mehwɛeɛ, na nnipa nni hɔ; ewiem anomaa biara atu kɔ.
26 I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert. The cities were all ruined; they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry.
Mehwɛeɛ, na nsasebereɛ no adane anweatam na ne nkuro nyinaa asɛe wɔ Awurade anim, wɔ nʼabufuhyeɛ anim.
27 This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
Sei na Awurade seɛ: “Wɔbɛsɛe asase no nyinaa, mmom merensɛe no korakora.
28 I will do to my people what I said that I would do, and I will not change my mind. So [when that happens, it will be as though] the earth will mourn and the sky will become very dark.”
Enti asase bɛdi awerɛhoɔ na ɔsorosoro bɛduru sum, ɛfiri sɛ makasa na merentwe nsan. Masi gyinaeɛ na mennane no.”
29 [When the people hear] the sound of the [enemy] army marching, [they will be terrified as] they flee from their cities. Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes, and others will run toward the mountains/hills [to escape being killed by their enemies]. All the cities [in Judah] will be abandoned; not one person will remain in them.
Apɔnkɔsotefoɔ ne agyantofoɔ nnyegyeeɛ ma kuro biara sofoɔ dwane. Ebinom kɔhyɛ nkyɛkyerɛ mu ebinom foro kɔ abotan mu. Nkuro no nyinaa so ada mpan; na obiara nte so.
30 So you who will surely be destroyed, [why are you doing the things that you are doing now]? Why are you wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry? Why are you putting paint around your eyes? Doing those things will not help you, because the people [in other countries that you think] love you [actually] despise you, and they will try to kill you.
Ɛdeɛn na woreyɛ Ao wo a woasɛe woɔ? Adɛn na wofira kɔben de sikakɔkɔɔ agudeɛ asiesie wo ho? Adɛn na wode nnuro keka wʼani? Wohyehyɛ wo ho kwa. Wʼadɔfoɔ bu wo animtia; wɔrepɛ wo akum wo.
31 [It is as though] I already hear [the people in Jerusalem] crying very loudly, like [SIM] a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child; she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her. [It is as though Jerusalem] is crying, “Something terrible is happening to me! They are about to murder me!”
Mete osu bi te sɛ ɔbaa a awoɔ aka no, mete apinisie te sɛ ɔbaa a ɔrebɔne awoɔ, Ɔbabaa Sion su te sɛ deɛ nisupɔporɔ ahini no, ɔtrɛ ne nsa mu na ɔka sɛ, “Afei deɛ, meretɔ baha; wɔde me kra ama awudifoɔ.”
